Long-Distance Dance Party

Are you a student?

Do you go to college away from home?

Is calling your family and friends on the phone just not enough?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then you better believe I have news for you!

Okay, okay, enough of that. But don't you feel like an infomercial when you tell people about a product or service that you like? I always do.

But really, I found a really cool new service that I wanted to share with you! Since I go to a school outside of my hometown, I spend quite a bit of time keeping in touch with people at home. Last year, we invested in webcams and started using Skype. Skype is great, especially for times when I hardly get to come home -- I can Skype with my parents to see what's going on at home and church, with my best friend to get some much needed encouragement and chat time in, and even with friends who have moved away to chat about their lives. It has been so handy.

Over Christmas break, a few of us at church decided to try a bible study during the semester. Since we are all over the country during the year, we thought we would Skype video calls. However, unless we paid, having a conference call with 7 of us wasn't going to happen.

Then what? Well, nothing happened at first, I'm ashamed to admit. But when I got down to searching for a great video call provider who would allow the 7 of us to all talk and see each other at once, I finally found a winner. Yesterday, I signed up for tok-box.

tok-box is a video call service that allows you to conference call (for FREE) with up to 20 people. So you can have business meetings, share exciting news with a big group, have a bible study, or who knows what else!? Now that I'm signed up and getting the hang of it, I'm attempting my first 3-way video call with a couple of friends this weekend. I'm very excited.

Now all I can say is: 20-person-long-distance-tokbox-video dance party GO!

Have a favorite new product or service? Share with me, my friends!

Checking In: Is Summer Here Yet?

Hello friends!

How is life treating you lately? If you are a college student, I think I probably have a good idea of what you are thinking right now: "PLEASE, SEMESTER, PLEASE JUST END!"

I feel your pain! It seems like we are just so close, but yet, there is so much to be done in the next (three, for me) weeks. But I thought that I would post some happy things to give you some inspiration to keep on keepin' on, if you'll forgive the cliché.

But really, tell me! What's new with you, friends?


Some beeeeautiful dinnerware that I ogled shamelessly in Anthropologie. Like many of my budget-wary friends, I only own that initial mug from their store. It's so cute! Great for tea.

I went to a natural museum over Spring Break (I know that was a long time ago, but it was gorgeous!). On our way back home, the boyfriend and I stopped on the side of the road and almost got run over to snap some photos of my favorite flower. Goooorgeous.

Since I had just been at home for Spring Break, I decided not to venture homewards for Easter. But my most wonderful parents decided that they would come visit! They haven't been up to campus this year, so they came up, and on the last day they were here, we did a hike into a volcanic crater! Pretty impressive!

So, tell me. How are you doing? Swimming in final papers and studying for exams? Praying? (That's become my method of pre-study cramming. I do pray for other reasons too though!) Fill me in on your lives!